FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. (WNCN) — As America celebrates its 241st birthday, a family-owned farm in Wake County celebrates an anniversary that dates back even further.

Burt Farms in Fuquay-Varina is one of the oldest farms in North Carolina and is even older than the Declaration of Independence.

“It’s crazy to think that we’ve been able to hold onto it for this long, especially in a county that’s urbanizing like Wake,” said Fred Burt. “It’s getting harder and harder to hold on to it.”

The piece of land was originally given to the family in 1754 as a land grant from King George II. The Burt family has been able to keep it in the family for 10 generations.

In keeping with tradition, Fred Burt recently handed the farm over to his son John.

“I’ve kept faith with my ancestors and was able to pass it on,” said Fred Burt. “It gives you a sense of having something that old to want to keep it.”

While tobacco used to be the cash crop for the farm, now the focus is on beef cattle, small grains and high-quality hay.

It shows that while a lot has changed, the name, lineage and pride have always remained.

“It gives you a special sense of pride and patriotism in what our family has been able to accomplish over the last 265 years now,” said John Burt. “It’s very important to us to be able to have that kind of lineage and that kind of sense of home that’s hard to find now.”

And down the road, it will be time for John Burt to hand off the farm to one of his two sons.

The family says this Fourth of July they’re reminded, all good things will always stand the test of time.